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'Lawrence Gene "Larry" David' (born July 2, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an Emmy-winning actor, writer, comedian, producer and film director. David was co-creator, head writer and executive producer (as well as the voice of New York Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner) for the television series ''Seinfeld''. He also created and stars in the HBO series ''Curb Your Enthusiasm''.
David, a former standup comedian, was a writer and cast member for ABC's ''Fridays'' from 1980 to 1982, and a writer for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1984 to 1985. During his time at SNL, David only managed to get one of his sketches on the show — the last sketch of the night where the weaker sketches are usually scheduled. David quit his writing job at SNL mid-season, only to show up to work a few days later to act as though nothing had happened. This inspired a season two episode of ''Seinfeld'' entitled "The Revenge". David met his future ''Seinfeld'' stars during this early stage of his career: he worked with Michael Richards (Kramer) on ''Fridays'' and with Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) during his one-year stint on ''SNL''.
David graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a bachelor's degree in history (1970) and then in business (1971).
On March 31, 1993, David married Laurie Lennard; they have two daughters named Cazzie and Romy, and they lived in Pacific Palisades, California. Like her counterpart, Cheryl David (played by Cheryl Hines), in ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', Laurie is an environmental activist. From May 2005, the couple were both contributing bloggers at The Huffington Post.^[2]
On June 5, 2007, the couple announced their intention to amicably separate.^[3] Laurie David filed for divorce on July 19, 2007 citing irreconcilable differences and seeking joint custody of their two daughters.

Contents

''Seinfeld''

''Curb Your Enthusiasm''

Other projects

References

External links

''Seinfeld''

Main articles: Seinfeld

In 1989, Larry David teamed up with comedian Jerry Seinfeld to create NBC's ''The Seinfeld Chronicles'' (later retitled ''Seinfeld''), which was to become one of the most successful shows in television history. David occasionally appeared (uncredited) on the show, and was the primary inspiration for the show's George Costanza character. Larry David left ''Seinfeld'' on amicable terms after the seventh season but did return to write the series finale in 1998 two years later, as well as continually providing the voice for the character of George Steinbrenner. Although he subsequently stopped writing, his function as executive producer is considered to have defined ''Seinfeld''. Larry's favorite episode is a two-parter called "The Boyfriend" featuring retired major leaguer Keith Hernandez.
The commercial success of ''Seinfeld'' has made creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld multimillionaires, with syndication and DVD releases earning them hundreds of millions of dollars. Larry David is estimated to have netted over $500 million from ''Seinfeld'' alone.^[4]
David was nominated for an Emmy award 19 times for Seinfeld, winning twice, once for best comedy and once for writing.

''Curb Your Enthusiasm''

In 1999, the HBO cable television channel aired David's special, '', a hybrid work using story outlines and improvised dialogue, shot in a 'mockumentary' style. Before it aired, HBO had suggested that David commit to a series using the same method. The result, ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', first aired in 2000. It revisits many of the themes first brought up in ''Seinfeld'', albeit in a markedly different style. Because it is on HBO, the show can explore slightly more explicit themes (examples include a pubic hair being stuck in David's throat, and a woman keeping a baseball in her vagina) and dialogue (the show contains swearing). The overall gist of the show consists of David being socially awkward in Los Angeles, and ending up ruining every relationship, environment or situation he's in. Alongside David is his wife Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines), his manager and best friend Jeff (played by Jeff Garlin), and Jeff's wife Susie (played by Susie Essman). Several celebrities (including comedians Richard Lewis and Wanda Sykes) have either had recurring roles on the show or made guest appearances. For a complete list of the show's guest stars, see List of celebrities appearing on Curb Your Enthusiasm. So far, Larry's favorite Curb episode is "The Ski Lift".
In 2004, ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' was credited with helping clear a Los Angeles man named Juan Catalan of a first-degree murder charge. Catalan, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, maintained his innocence, saying he was at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on May 12, 2003, during the time of the slaying. During the game, an episode of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' was being shot in Dodger Stadium which contained footage of Juan Catalan with his daughter. When told that his show had exonerated a wrongfully accused man, Larry David commented in a ''New Yorker'' article, "I tell people that I've now done one decent thing in my life. Albeit inadvertently."^[5]
In 2005, David was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the "Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series — Musical Or Comedy" category, for his work on the show. In the same year, fellow comedians and comedy insiders, in a poll to select ''The Comedian's Comedian'', voted him number 23 on the top fifty greatest comedy acts ever.
David was also nominated for a 2006 Emmy Best Actor Award for his work on the show. There was speculation that the show would be ending after the fifth season; however, The New York Post reported in 2007 that the show will return on September 9, 2007, airing at 10pm Sunday nights on HBO.

Other projects

David has also appeared in minor parts in two Woody Allen films, ''Radio Days'' (1987) and ''New York Stories'' (1989). He was considered for the part that went to Billy Bob Thornton in ''Bad Santa'', and also played an angry version of himself to agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) on ''Entourage''.
David wrote and directed the 1998 film ''Sour Grapes'', about two cousins who feud over a casino jackpot. It was neither a commercial nor critical success.
Since his daughters are ''Hannah Montana'' fans, David, along with them, guest starred in the episode ''My Best Friend's Boyfriend'' as themselves.
David has also starred in a print advertising campaign for American Express, in which he says his favorite in-flight movie was fictional Seinfeld-film Rochelle, Rochelle.

References

1. Divorce document (PDF). TMZ.com.
2. Jones, William. Generation Hex. Jason Louv (Editor). The Disinformation Company.
ISBN 1932857206
3. NEWLY SINGLE Richard Johnson
4. ''Who's the richest? Seinfeld'', [1], The Associated Press, 1999
5. Dept of Exoneration: Face in the Crowd

External links

★

★ New Yorker Article about Larry David

★ LarryDavidFan.com fansite

★ Larry David's blog on the Huffington Post

★ My War by Larry David

★ 60 Minutes II interview with Larry David hosted by Bob Simon which aired August 11, 2004 (there is also a link to a portion of the video from the interview)

★ Larry David interview by Grist Magazine

★ Hour-Long interview with Larry David

★ Video → Larry David - Charlie Rose interview from 1998 (57 min)